Exposure
by shan14
Summary: He turned, just a fraction, but she saw him never the less; a silent acknowledgment of her presence near to his
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My version of what happened when Mike and Kate first met..

Don't own Anything

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He sat perfectly still, a dark silhouette against the brilliant light of the curtains whipping in the wind behind him. A white sheet lay crumpled across his lap, barely covering his body as a gust of wind sent shiver's down his spine. His shoulders were hunched as his elbow's rested heavily against his knees; the skin across his back tight with tension so that his muscles pulled at him roughly. His head, brown locks falling precariously a top it, was lying in the palms of his hands, face down and eyes firmly shut. His heavy breathing filled the quiet room, loud sighs that shook his whole body, giving the impression of a broken or frail man.

She noticed him through half closed eyes, blinking slowly in a tired state of consciousness as she rolled to face towards his shadowed form. She watched his actions and his movement; listened to the steady heaves as he inhaled followed by the slow rush or air as he exhaled, all the while keeping a steady eye on the rise and fall of his bare chest, half hidden behind the unruly strands of hair fallen beneath his gaze.

He looked as she felt; alone, nervous, fragile, overwhelmed. How many times she had opened her mouth to speak, only to close it in worry once more, struggling to find the words to express what was inside of her. Her heart beat a steady rhythm against her chest; a white sheet pulled tightly to her chin covering her entire body though no matter how hard she tugged at the rough fabric, she couldn't rid the feeling of exposure that engulfed her. She felt as if she might be exposed to the world for ever, or at least to the man seated before her.

She took the risk to open her eyes further, embracing the pillow beside her for warmth against the stale air surrounding the room. She sucked in a deep breath, filling her aching lungs as if she might never breathe again. He turned, just a fraction, but she saw him never the less; a silent acknowledgment of her presence near to his.

"I should go" he murmured finally, voice thick with emotion and thought; first words since last night echoing against the cream coloured walls surrounding them on all sides.

"Yes" she managed to choke out, mumbled against a mouthful of pillow pressed against her pale face. Her voice sounded different she realised suddenly, some how older, exposed to the world, less naive and more….guilty.

He did not move though; dark silhouette remaining perfectly frozen in time against the gales blowing against her window. How loud it was! She wrapped the thin sheet tightly across her face, smothering the howls and whistles echoing in her head while covering the image of him seated before her, his brooding figure a stark contrast to her pale room; a terrible reminder of what she had done.

She shut her eyes tightly, knowing he wasn't married but still feeling a desperate sense of betrayal, wondering if this is what it meant to be having an affair.

Destroying your career for a man you met day's earlier; giving up your youthful flare for a smudged feeling of exposure. Saying one thing while doing the other.

She shut her eyes tightly against the harsh sunlight judging her from the window across the room, white curtains still blowing carelessly against his bare hunched figure at the foot of her bed.

She willed herself towards a time before hand, namely a yesterday long since forgotten in the haze of her exposure to the world and smudging of guilt across her conscience.

Worse, she felt the lump in her throat at the thought of him, the tingling at the memory of his body lying against hers, the safety of his arms wrapped around her; safer than any experience she could name.

She realised with horror that she needed him.

She opened her eyes to the harsh sunlight now blaring down upon her body, tangled between the sheets. As the brightness adjusted she glanced down to where his figure sat, hunched over in fear at what had happened; dizzy with realisation of what he had let himself do. He rose gently, tugging on his jeans while draping his shirt across his bare chest before turning towards the door, not daring to look towards her or acknowledge her presence any longer.

He glanced side ways, catching her curled form out of the corner of his eyes before sighing loudly, stepping forward and leaving the silent room. She stared at the door intently, even as his heavy footsteps echoed through her apartment, and the door squeaked open and the lock caught as it swung closed with a thud.

She didn't tear her eyes away until she heard the swerve as his car turn the street corner, and only then she allowed herself to look away, drag the thick sheets down and sit up. A lone, hot tear trickled slowly down her cheek, plummeting towards her lap before another followed its path, dripping down her paled face until she was wet with tears.


	2. Chapter 2

"I met a woman" he blurted out, almost choking on the beer that he held raised to his lips. He'd been bursting to tell someone the news and after almost announcing it to a work mate, which in short would have been fatal, he had decided the safest option was family, namely his younger sister Tess.

"You what?" asked the curly blonde haired woman, looking up from the mahogany wood of the bar she was busy polishing, the sticky brown rag held mid air as she stared at her brother in surprise.

"Yep" he nodded, sharing a look with her before hiding behind his beer once more. Taking this as a sign that he wasn't going to be as open with details as he had been about the news, Tess dropped the rag behind the bench and slid up across from her brother, leaning against the bar so that he couldn't escape her eye sight at any time.

"And how exactly did you met someone Michael, you live on a boat" she reminded him playfully, her confusion over the matter showing despite the grin she was trying to put on. She was happy for her brother, after all it had taken him long enough to find someone who he obviously thought was more than a five minute fling, but something about his body language and the way his beer bottle had become a hiding mechanism was telling her that she hadn't heard the whole story yet, and most likely would not like it.

"I don't live on a boat" he retaliated weakly, rolling his eyes at her before adding in softly "and she's a ship"

"Can you see where my disbelief is coming from?" she countered, throwing her hands up as Mike tried to swat her arm.

"Really though, when did this happen?" she asked moments later, once more leaning across the bar in the hopes he would realise that she truly was interested.

"About a month and a half ago" he answered slowly, taking a long sip of the bitter liquid in his hand before looking up at his sister. Noting her look which was asking for more detail he took a deep breathe before launching straight towards the truth of the matter. That he'd meet her at a course where he was her instructor, she was 23 and he was 33 and they'd had a one night stand that had left them both near tears and had now ended in an emotional affair.

He blinked slowly, barley catching his breathe before Tess assaulted him with a barrage of unintelligible questions, maniac hand movements included that only ended in her hitting his arm painfully and demanding any reason at all for why he had done something so stupid.

"Are you trying to get yourself fired, or maybe you haven't had enough adventure yet, is that it? Seriously! For Christ's sake Michael you're already known as the cowboy of the Navy, do you really think that firstly, this affair, cause that's what it is, is going to last, and secondly do you really, honestly believe that no one is going to find out?"

She blasted, not bothering to note that her brother's face had fallen a mile, instead focusing on what this would do to him in the long run. She ran a hand through her unruly hair, pulling it back towards a bun before letting it fall in cascades around her shoulder again, shaking her head once to clear it before looking up at her brother, realising for the first time that that wasn't the answer he had been hoping for.

"Look, I'm happy for you Michael, really, you deserve to find someone. But I think you need to evaluate whether this girl is really the right one for you, especially under the circumstances. I mean, if you lose your job what are you going to do? You joined the Navy when you were seventeen and only because you had no idea what else to do. Sooner or later you'd have to find something else, but you and I both know you wouldn't enjoy it. Is she really worth your career?"

Mike stared at Tess a moment, barely hearing the words she said, only watching the disapproving look she had written all over her face as she tried to make sense of what had possessed her brother to get involved with someone this hazardous to his career.

"You know what Tess" he muttered finally, pausing briefly to drown the last drops of his beer "I told you this for a reason. One, because I thought you would be happy for me, two, cause I thought you might like to know that I'm finally doing something more with my life than 'living on a boat' as you put it. But you want to know the real reason why I haven't told anyone but you?" he asked finally, barely holding back the venom in his voice that he knew was shocking her "Cause I knew you wouldn't act like mum"

"But I guess I was wrong" he murmured moments later, slamming the empty glass down before spinning in his seat, sending one last look to his little sister who stood shocked behind the bar, before stalking away, not once looking back.

"Mike" whispered Tess finally, staring at the seat he had inhabited moments earlier; wishing she could take back the accusing tone in her voice as she drilled him about his own life, something that she now realised she had no real right to judge. He was his own person, older than her for Christ's sake, a commander in the Navy! Yet she still treated him like a little kid that she had to protect, just as there mother had.  
He'd never said it but she'd always known that was what sent him away at the young, naive age of seventeen. Not the thrill of adventure or pride for his country; that all came later. What had pulled him away, made him glad to leave his family behind and join the ranks of the navy, was the need to prove that he could do as his father could, was able to be just as strong as his brother seemed.

He'd taken so much bull as a child from all sorts of people, teachers, siblings, friends, family, that all he wanted to do was prove he was better than what they thought of him.

And he had, she realised. He'd done better for himself than any of the others ever had. He may not have been married as they were, may not have settled down yet, but he was the only one out of the four Flynn children to actually be happy with where he was in life.

And she had almost destroyed that.

Suddenly she felt the overwhelming guilt of what she had done and made a beeline for the phone, punching in the numbers she knew all to well while silently praying that he would respond.

"Hello?" she all but yelled, waiting a few moments for him to respond.

"Michael?" she whispered tentatively.

"I'm sorry but the number you have tried to reach is not available at the moment, please leave a message after the beep" came the delightedly depressing tone of the answering machine, ringing loudly in her ear so that she slammed the phone down on the receiver.

She had her chance to finally show him that she was proud of him, and she'd blown it.


	3. Interlude to Exposure

"Milk" yelled Kate through the house, startling its only other occupant lazing tiredly in bed.

"Ha?" grunted Mike in reply, rolling over to grab the pillow laying halfway down the mattress. He pulled it towards him and hugged it close as the sound of Kate padding through the apartment grew louder.

"You're out of Milk" she called again, entering his hazardous lounge room. She heard a grumble which she supposed was a response from the snoozing male.

"Mike?"

"Is asleep!" yelled the man, letting the little amount of mock annoyance he felt creep into his voice.

"I can't find my shirt" whined Kate, finally stopping her search to fall onto the lounge.

She couldn't help but grin at the sound of the mattress squeaking in protest; its occupant bolting into a sitting position as thoughts of what Kate therefore did not have on entered his clearing imagination.

"So, what are you wearing then?" he asked, trying to sound innocent and failing miserably.

Kate grinned before replying cheekily "Whatever you're not"

She lay back on the lounge, trying to stop her self giggling at the thought of Mike starring down at his now decidedly bare chest.

The pair sat in silence a moment, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Mike lay back in bed with a cheeky smile, sheets covering the lower part of his body and leaving his top half exposed.

Kate meanwhile was curled up and cross legged on the lounge, holding her breath as she awaited the call that was certainly coming.

"Get in here"

Both grinned boldly at the thought.

---

Mike glanced up to drink in the sight of Kate leaning against the door frame; arms crossed as one of his shirts hang loosely around her slim figure.

"Can I have my shirt back?" he murmured, voice rumbling up Kate's spine as a cool morning breeze blew through the windows.

She padded lightly towards the bed, settling herself with some ease on Mike's stomach and laying both hands on his bare chest as he raised an eyebrow in question.

"Nope" she murmured, leaning forward so her forehead rested against his. Her blonde locks fell to either side of their faces, encompassing the pair in semi darkness.

"You're an evil, evil woman Kate McGregor" chuckled Mike, running his hands underneath the shirt and up her back, pulling her closer for a kiss.

"You're a beautiful, beautiful man Mike Flynn"


End file.
